But surely he had to feel something on hearing he was to become a father?
Didn’t he…?
Personally, Luccy had been absolutely dumbstruck when the doctor had announced that the symptoms that had brought her to his clinic in the first place—tiredness, nausea, lack of appetite, a late period—could all be attributed to the fact that she was pregnant.
Pregnancy simply hadn’t occurred to her as an explanation for those symptoms!
Why it hadn’t, she had no idea. Probably because she stupidly hadn’t thought that a single evening of unprotected lovemaking—unprotected because Luccy simply hadn’t thought she would actually be making love with Sin or, indeed, anyone else that night!—could have resulted in her becoming pregnant.
‘That’s good,’ Sin answered evenly, still determined to keep this situation from spilling over into anger if at all possible. ‘Very good,’ he repeated. ‘Although I’ll obviously want you to see someone over here as soon as possible—’
‘Why will you?’ she questioned sharply.
He raised a dark brow. ‘Luccy, I’m sure your own doctor is a more than capable GP, but I would obviously prefer you to see a specialist of my choosing—’
‘Maybe we should get something straight right now, Sin,’ she cut in determinedly as she stood up. ‘This is my baby, and—’
‘And mine,’ he grated harshly.
‘Yes.’ She nodded abruptly. ‘But it will be up to me to decide which doctor I see during my pregnancy.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I think we both know that isn’t true.’
Luccy became very still as she looked at him warily. ‘What do you mean?’
Sin turned away to thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Before he reached out and touched Luccy again. Something that would be a definite mistake on his part.
Luccy was pregnant.
With his baby.
And ordinarily that would be reason for celebration—it was reason for celebration! Sin just had no idea yet what Luccy intended doing about it…
‘Sin…?’
His face was an expressionless mask as he turned back to face her.
‘The child you’re carrying is the Sinclair heir.’
‘What if it’s a girl?’ she came back challengingly.
‘I already told you I’m the only grandson, so, girl or boy, as soon as it’s born, this child will automatically become the Sinclair heir,’ he bit out tersely. ‘I’m sure you aren’t unaware of what that means?’
Luccy had a sinking feeling she really wasn’t going to like the rest of this conversation! Not that it had been exactly enjoyable so far, but the way this was going she just knew it was going to get worse…
She frowned. ‘All it means to me is that my child’s father is named Jacob Sinclair the Third.’
‘Our child will be the Sinclair heir!’
‘So you’ve said. Repeatedly.’ Luccy grimaced. ‘But that will only apply until you have other, legitimate children—’
‘What makes you so sure that I don’t intend for this child be legitimate?’ Sin cut in forcefully, those grey eyes once again glittering arctically.
Luccy gave him a bewildered look. The only way the child she carried could be legitimate was if—‘You can’t seriously think I want to marry you?’ She gasped incredulously.
He gave a pitying glance. ‘I’m sure that you would much rather I set you up in your own home and kept you and our child in the life to which you no doubt long to become accustomed—’He broke off as Luccy’s hand swung up in an arc and made sharp contact with his cheek. ‘Feeling better?’ he taunted, the marks of her fingers already showing on his tightly clenched cheek.
‘Not particularly, no!’ She glared up at him, so angry that she was shaking with the emotion. ‘I dislike you intensely!’
‘So you’ve said. Repeatedly.’ He gave a mocking inclination of his head. ‘I can assure you, I’m not particularly fond of you at the moment, either. Not a prestigious start to a marriage, is it?’
‘I am not marrying you!’ Luccy repeated furiously.
Sin gave a humourless smile. ‘I think you’ll find that’s exactly what you’re going to do.’
‘No—’
‘It isn’t something that’s up for negotiation, Luccy,’ he cut in grimly. ‘Marriage is my price,’ he declared.
‘Are you deaf? I’ve just told you that I don’t want to marry you!’ she all but shrieked in frustration.
He shrugged. ‘Maybe that was something you should have thought about before you became pregnant.’
Luccy gasped. ‘You don’t think I became pregnant on purpose?’
‘I’ll admit it had to have been more luck than judgement.’ Sin shrugged. ‘You just got very lucky.’
He couldn’t seriously believe that Luccy had planned this pregnancy?
But he did. Luccy could see by the utter ruthlessness of his expression that that was exactly what Sin thought.
She was barely used to the idea of being pregnant herself, so to have Sin now accuse her of having planned it that way was incredible!
‘People don’t get married nowadays just because the woman is pregnant!’ she protested.
Sin looked down at her coldly. ‘I do.’
‘So did my sister,’ Luccy reminded him. ‘That’s the reason that eight unhappy years and two children later she’s in the middle of a messy divorce!’
And Luccy didn’t want that for herself or her child. She couldn’t believe that Sin really wanted to be married to a woman he didn’t love, either…
She gave a heavy sigh. ‘Sin, I’m twenty-eight years old, and quite capable of bringing this child up on my own. I certainly don’t intend marrying any man—even a Sinclair!—just because I happen to be expecting his baby.’
‘Luccy, you may as well get used to the idea that there is no question of your bringing this baby up on your own.’
‘Why isn’t there?’
His mouth twisted. ‘I’ve already explained the reasons why. Repeatedly, remember?’ he drawled. ‘There is an alternative, of course. One I’m sure you must have considered…’
Luccy frowned, not knowing what he meant. Then…‘I have not, and I will not, consider having an abortion!’ she told him forcefully.